Iowa DOT News Release

New Iowa license plate design revealed

Posted on: August 21, 2017

AMES, Iowa – Aug. 21, 2017 – The Iowa Department of Transportation announced that the public chose the City and County Reboot design to replace Iowa’s current county standard license plate.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, and Iowa DOT Director Mark Lowe revealed three potential plate designs at the start of the Iowa State Fair. The public voted for their favorite design through an online poll and at the Iowa DOT’s State Fair booth throughout the Fair. The City and Country Reboot design won the public vote with 113,299 of the poll’s 291,095 total votes. There was a big push late yesterday that brought Flying Our Colors to a close second with 110,352 votes. In third place was The Great Wide Open, which tallied 67,444 votes.

Gov. Kim Reynolds said, “Iowans made their voices heard in the selection process for our state’s next license plate design,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said. “I’m glad so many were able to help select a meaningful design that should serve as a point of pride for our state and showcase our unique culture to the rest of the country.”

Mark Lowe said, “I’m pleased we were able to include the public in the selection process. People lined up at our booth to vote throughout the fair, and many more people voted online. It was fun and gratifying to see so many people positively engage, and I’m happy that the end result is a colorful, positive design that’s still easy to read and meets its public safety purpose. Many people commented that this design represented everyone in the state, and we know Iowa is a great place wherever you choose to live.”

The new plate design will be available sometime in 2018. Plates with the new designs will be issued to vehicle owners whenever they add or change vehicles and obtain new county standard plates or whenever they replace lost, stolen, or damaged county standard plates. To avoid unnecessary cost, Iowans who currently have county standard plates will receive replacement plates with the new design when their current plate reaches the end of its 10-year replacement cycle. Vehicle owners who want a new plate sooner may purchase a set from their local county treasurer’s office for $5.

To download images of the license plate options, including the winning design or to receive more information about the redesign process visit iowadot.gov/mvd/newplates.